User Reviews

In the 1950's and 1960's, MGM made a slew of teen-exploitation pictures, some of them okay, some laughably bad.

"Hold On" is neither the best nor the worst of these, and it does have some redeeming qualities. First on the list of redeeming qualities, of course, would be the presence of Herman's Hermits, who were white-hot in 1965 and 1966. The songs are, for the most part, pretty good (the notable exception being "The George and Dragon"); "Wild Love," which closes the film, feels like it should have been a hit but wasn't. "Make Me Happy," sung by co-star Shelley Fabares backed by the Hermits, is a masterpiece of mid-60's girl-enslaving-herself-to-boy songwriting, and is sort of funny today as a result.

The plot, as other writers have noted, is preposterous, and involves not only a NASA spacecraft, but a subplot involving fainting girls and another involving a (never-seen) supersonic transport capable of whisking Herman from Los Angeles to Cape Kennedy in something like an hour. And the cast is full of familiar television faces of the '60's, which was cheap of MGM at the time, but has a certain charm now.

Like "A Hard Day's Night," the film attempts to give us the feeling of a period where rock stars made girls scream and faint. We get only glimpses of that, but it drips with other period detail. "Look, there's a '65 Plymouth!" "Look at her hair." "I remember dresses like that." All in all,"Hold On" stands as a rather contrived piece of film-making, but an interesting period piece.

Somebody, somewhere, in 1966, got the idea to make a movie featuring the English rock-n-roll band Herman's Hermits. That somebody should be interrogated at length. This movie was obviously a crass attempt to cash in on the evolving music phenomena of Merseybeat and its earth-shaking success, "Beatlemania." The curious thing is that the music of Herman's Hermits was certainly unique, then, and remains enjoyable now. Imagine hearing rock-n-roll music that actually has melodic structure, played by young men with no residue of anger or 'angst.' Imagine that.

The plot is tissue paper thin. In fact, it is as if the script was written with invisible ink. The whole "we're gonna get a rocket named after us" theme is just plain ... screwball. It would be nice if the comedic elements in this movie could be called "screwball." But that isn't really what's going on here ....

In 1966 there were no "infomercials" on television. That was a concept dreamed up later, when independent TV stations and then cable networks found that they had time they could sell for these thirty-minute repeatable information commercials. However, "Hold On" seems to double as an extended commercial for the band.

So there's the story of this movie: "Hold On" seems to have been cloned from a "beach blanket bingo" template, being as it is set in California and there's just oodles of opportunities for pretty young things to cavort in the bikini suits of the day. How clever.

Being a fan of the music of the 1960's, I found this 'confection' to be very pleasing, even if overloaded with sugar and syrup.

Merseybeat and the "English invasion" of the 1960s was most assuredly an epochal event in the musical culture of the United States, and what is so strange, is that both the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and some other amazingly successful bands of that time began by listening to American music, 'rhythm & blues,' to be specific, and reinterpreted some of the great popular music of that genre into what later came to be called "Blue-eyed Soul." It remains one of the great mysteries of sociology as to why Merseybeat and the English invasion was so perfectly right for American pop culture in those years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and before the turmoil caused by the Viet Nam conflict. But then, there were many mysteries abounding in the 1960s.

The Hermits never really passed the final examination for inclusion in that august group of English rockers who re-made rock-n-roll music, but they had a strange and distinctive sound. This movie is fun for that reason, and for "eye candy," as in Shelley Fabares.

"Hold On" is cotton candy film making. But the music still rocks ... sweetly and gently ....

I found Hold On to be fascinatingly inappropriate. The filmmakers obviously wanted to cash in on the British Invasion and the success of the Beatles movies, but they clearly were totally out of touch with the youth culture of the time. They made a movie in 1966 starring one of the most popular groups of the 60s, and everything about the film screams the 50s: the writing, the direction, even the incidental music on the soundtrack. I don't blame Arthur Lubin, who was 65 years old at the time and a veteran of 1940s and 1950s films and 1950s and 1960s TV shows. That's exactly what Hold On reminds me of: a peculiar blend of a 1950s movie and a 1960s TV show. It has the look, the sound, even the feel. The producers should have hired someone who had a better feel for the pop music culture of the 1960s. Imagine the Beatles dropped in the middle of a beach party movie, or a Rock Hudson/Doris Day film. Except, of course, the Beatles could act.

British pop group Herman's Hermits land in Los Angeles to play the Rose Bowl, but what they really want to do is see the sights and meet some girls "to talk to". They're pursued by a scientist collecting data on the band for NASA, who are thinking of using the group's moniker on the new spaceship, a would-be actress who wants to link her name with theirs to generate publicity, and a blonde Shelley Fabares who wants the group to perform at her mother's charity event at the snooty Ocean Club. The Hermits sing many hookless tunes, one of which is entitled "A Must To Avoid", which may well have served as this film's subtitle. Although Southern California looks lovely (like a big, shiny department store), there's no satirical wit in the writing, and Herman's Hermits have no personality, no distinction, and no charisma. Fabares gets the only good song, "Make Me Happy", and her sweetly out-of-it presence is a nice distraction to the screaming teenage fans, who are mostly shot swarming from below the knees. *1/2 from ****

In its brief vogue of popularity, Herman's Hermits tried to keep the bubblegum popularity of the Beatles after the Beatles and the rest of the culture went psychedelic and counterculture. In that they were successful as long as the vogue for them lasted. Even today lead singer Peter Blair Dennis No one enjoys a lot of popularity on the nostalgia circuit among his aging fans.

Some have said that Hold On! is a ripoff of A Hard Day's Night and it follows that pattern to some degree. Actually it's more like an extended version of a Monkey's television show. And down to today you can still see pop groups still using this model, just look at the Jonas Brothers television series on the Disney Channel.

In a whirlwind tour of the USA, Herman's Hermits becomes the victims of a publicity seeking actress played by Sue Ane Langdon, they get a NASA rocket named for them, and No one gets himself involved with young society girl Shelley Fabares whose mother has bought the Hermits for one of her society charity events. Some of these things don't quite come off as well as the others.

The aging fans of Herman's Hermits will remember Hold On! with nostalgia. What the film does lack is any of the identifiable songs from the boys back in the day. The score is hardly that of A Hard Day's Night or even Help!. But the film is a pleasant enough diversion and I don't think those who watch it are expecting too much.

This is dreadful. Just have a look at the plot line (something about a NASA rocket being named after a pop group) to see how bad it is. The name of Producer Sam Katzman should have been another warning, he made many exploitation films around popular music and few of them had any merit.

No one in the film can act and the attempts at humor are embarrassing. Herman's Hermits made some decent music in the sixties - my favorite is "My Sentimental Friend" but on this evidence they were not-so-pretty boys short on talent and devoid of charisma. The only song that I recognized was the well-titled "She's a Must to Avoid". Mediocre song, good advice.

I learned to play the guitar in the 60's with the British Invasion and I'm still not that good but would have been embarrassed to be seen playing this stuff much less trying to even learn it..

I always liked the songs performed by Herman's Hermits. Simple songs with a catchy melody that seems to stay with you for a long time. With that in mind, I couldn't wait to see the band in the film, "Hold On." Shelley Fabares was hot looking but the band including Herman (Peter No one) seemed lame in comparison. The story was unbelievable, and the scenes seemed over staged. In comparison, in the Beatle's film, "A Hard Days Night" the crowd scenes seemed real, VERY real. "Hold On" looked like it was all shot on the back lot of a studio. It's wrong to compare the Beatles with Herman's Hermits, but if there was a better script for "Hold On" and if the viewer could actually see the personalities of the other band members, we would have had a better film. If you are a fan of Herman's Hermits, by all means don't miss this film. Like I said before, Shelley Fabares is eye candy and Herman (Peter No one) does have a few good moments with his famous facial expressions throughout the film. The music alone is worth a watch, but by no means take this movie as a serious venue. Bottom line, it's cute and a fun watch. We'll always wonder what could have been made with a good script? We'll never know.

There are a lot of comments on what a ridiculous movie this was. And those comments describe this movie perfectly. Yes, it's true. But get real! This movie is supposed to be ridiculous. The plot of the movie is about an English band who tour the United States. (In 1966, the English Invasion still ruled the radio and British groups were still being mobbed by screaming fans!)

Herman's Hermits come to the States and are greeted by wild screaming fans. The frenzy gets so far out of hand that NASA gets swamped with demands that the name of the latest rocket to be launched be changed to "Herman's Hermits".

Most musicals involve a screwball plot. HOLD ON is no exception. Only a complete idiot would expect a "meaningful plot" in a movie like this. It is pure escapist entertainment played up to a ridiculous level.

I saw the movie in 1967, which was a long time ago. So I don't remember if there were any bad guys in the plot of not. What I do remember is that the real plot of this movie is the showcasing of the latest (in 1966) sounds by Herman's Hermits, who at that time were close to taking second place to the Beatles in popularity.

I gave the movie a 7 because it was a movie from the mid 1960s that may be outdated by today's standards. Some of the comedy of the time may not be so funny today. Think BEWITCHED (1964 TV series) versus BEWITCHED (2005) and you'll get the drift.

When I saw this movie had Herman's Hermits in it, I figured I would check it out. What a waste of time this was. Not only does it not feature any of the Hermits good songs like 'Henry VIII' or 'Something Good', but the plot is so lame and just bad overall. The actors who stared in this dud should be ashamed for ever agreeing to do it. Everything about this movie is fake including the airport mob scenes where the film makers were trying to make it seem like the Beatles frenzy seen in many footage reels. Oh well, an hour and a half of my was wasted. For anyone considering watching this, I have two words: Don't bother.

I recently saw Hold On! on TCM in wide screen format and I liked it. It helps to be a fan of 1960s British music, as Hermans Hermits are featured. I guess this was their answer to the Beatles movies of that era. The plot is crazy and the acting is fair at best, but there was enough music and foolishness to keep me interested. A good example of a 1960s pop music movie.

Yes, I saw it on one of the channels, but many years ago.

Many of the posts have commented on the music of Herman... and for me, to is always a pleasant surprise to play their "Greatest Hits" album and realize exactly how much of an impact that music had on me at age 15 and 16.

A time and place: I can remember being in (more or less) downtown Sioux City, Iowa, on a blustery day in 1966 (my mother had brought me along on a shopping trip to Big City, main focus, one of the two major department stores) when I saw this movie was being played at a theater across the center square... and there was a kid with long hair headed for that showing. I can also remember at least one thing I bought that day: an "African print" short, a beautifully bright collection of colors made (or so the little booklet said by laying hot wax on the cloth, cutting it with sharp knives and then dying it. I could still wear that shirt but it was lost a couple of years ago.

Over and Out

Following the great box office success of Beatles' A HARD DAYS NIGHT in theaters across the USA rival studios tried to hop on the Rritish Invasion rock band movie trend with movies starring bands such as Dave Clark 5 and Herman's Hermits. However Beatles were the Beatles, the true superstars of early British Invasion era and they gave us a great musical soundtrack with a creative fun movie. These other 2 bands were mere pop wannabes whose movies lacked songs beyond so-so pop and also lacked any kind of creativity as actors by the band members. They may have been fun drive in brain candy but little more than that.

This film is not to be missed, because it is surely a candidate for the worst film of all time. It has the look and feel of the Batman TV series, but is nowhere near as interesting or funny.

The humour is purile at best and the music defies belief. And I like 60's music. After watching this turkey, EVERY modern film looks like Citizen Kane.

If the budget for this film was more than $100, I want to know what they blew it all on.

Herman's Hermits is visiting America on a tour and hi-jinx ensues. After the success of the Beatles, I'm sure every British band would aim to follow in their footsteps. Some actually got their films made. For that, Herman's Hermits needs to be congratulated but it does not make them the Beatles. Quite frankly, they falter by the comparison. They don't have as much charisma. They should be the stars in every frame of this movie but they're not. While they're the leads, they aren't really leading. They're being led. They're not the drivers of their own train. The story is all wrong. The guys need to have most of the dialogue and be constantly on screen. If not, then what's the point.

I saw this movie in its initial release, in a movie theater, back when I was around 13 years old. I haven't seen it since, and I doubt that it has stood the test of time, so this is just an explanation of why the film existed in the first place, and the context in which it must be understood to make any sense at all. The movie was essentially a fan film, in the same way that the string of forgettable Elvis movies were fan films. It was a piece of fluff designed solely to appeal to fans at the time of the pop band Herman's Hermits (or more specifically, it's lead singer, Peter Noone). Long before music videos began on MTV, these kind of films were essentially just that - a chance for young moviegoers to see a popular band perform their hits on screen. You have to remember that this was not the 1960s that most people tend to think of when they think of the '60s. This was not 1968 or 1969. This was 1966, two years before the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. America was still a relatively innocent place, and there was still room for lightweight pop-rock with catchy melodies. And Herman's Hermits filled that demand with some very catchy and memorable tunes from the period, as part of the overall British Invasion. If you're looking for hard rock or social commentary, look elsewhere. This was, at best, pop-rock - some would say bubblegum; it probably appealed mostly to younger teens, and girls who (like the one I went with) thought "Herman" (and his British accent) were cute. But the band definitely succeeded on the radio. The band sold over 60 million records, with at least 10 hit singles, ranging from "I'm into Something Good" and "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" to "There's a Kind of Hush" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am". The point of all this is that, going in, no one really expected it to be a good movie - the silly plot was beside the point. The young teen audience who bought tickets did so simply to hear the music, to see the band, and feel "a part of the scene" at the time. I don't remember much about the movie, other than that it was more or less exactly what I had expected, a harmless piece of Hollywood fluff that showcased a current band that I liked at the time. I doubt that it can be understood or enjoyed outside of that simple context. So basically, your reaction to this movie is likely to depend upon your reaction to Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits. As I said at the start, it was a fan movie. If you were a fan of the group, you'll probably enjoy it, despite its obvious shortcomings. If you didn't like the band, you won't like the movie. And if you never heard of Herman's Hermits, then you'd probably be better off skipping the film, and just listening to their Greatest Hits collection.

Hold On! is a fairly typical teen flick from the mid sixties. Check your brain at door.

The appeal here is the music. One will hear a top notch take of "Where Were You When I Needed You." There's the hit "A Must To Avoid." "All The Things I Do For You Baby" is covered. And the title track "Hold On!" is sure to please. That's four Sloan-Barri/P.F. Sloan songs in one movie! The Hermits play another goodie called "Wild Love" and Shelley Fabares melts hearts with "Make Me Happy." The soundtrack LP may we the way to go for those who prefer a meaningful movie experience but those who love "all things sixties" might like Hold On!

I saw this movie when I was 10 years old. It was a double feature at the movie theater with The Beatles "Help!". I guess the saying "You had to be there" comes into place. I loved it. But I also have always loved Herman Hermits. Yes, it is a little corny but, what comedy movie from the 60's wasn't? "Help" was also corny but it is a cult classic! Anyone that ever liked Herman Hermits and Shelly Fabreas will want to see it.

The acting isn't great but it does have several known people from those days. I have been trying to obtain this movie for my collection for years and now I see it is out on DVD. I will be getting it soon! Would love to get it on VHS tape if anyone knows where to get it. The fact that it is out on DVD must mean there are several people that want it too!